CHICAGO — The Cincinnati Reds didn’t wait for a perfect hittable pitch from Chicago Cubs right-hander Adrian Sampson. The Reds were aggressive against Sampson, and when they made contact, it was often loud and hard.

In his second start this season, both opposing the Reds, Sampson was able to keep his team in the game for an opportunity to extend their longest winning streak since 2019. The Cubs offense, though, was held in check by Reds starter Wade Miley for most of the night and ultimately fell short in a 4-3 loss that ended the streak at seven games.

Sampson had been pitching out of the bullpen but was needed for a spot start after Keegan Thompson went on the injured list. He gave the Cubs what they needed, limiting the Reds to two runs in five innings. He worked around six hits and a walk while striking out two. The Reds runs came on a pair of solo homers in the first.

“I mean, I’ve done this before, so it’s not new territory,” Sampson said. “It is hard, though, at the same time just routine-wise. But they gave me enough time to prep, and after my last (relief) outing, they gave me a little heads up that this could be a possibility of starting today. And so I just shifted to starter mentality and got my stuff done in between my outings and I kept it normal.”

With the Cubs facing a 4-1 deficit in the bottom of the eighth after the Reds scored two in the top half, Rafael Ortega connected for a pinch-hit home run. Three batters later, Ian Happ went deep for his 20th homer.

The Cubs homered in their 14th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the National League.